Hamtaro: The Tale of Ryosuke
by OneLonelyPickle
Summary: Elder Ham appears at the Clubhouse one day with a mysterious book, "The Tale of Ryosuke". This proves to be more than just another old story, and once again, the Ham-Hams find themselves on another hamtastic adventure!
1. Chapter 1

**Hamtaro: The Tale of Ryosuke  
><strong>_An original idea created by OneLonelyPickle_

**Chapter 1: Little Hamsters, Big Adventures!**

Ham-ha!

"My name is Hamtaro! I live in Japan, with my owner Laura! She talks to me a lot and gives me food, but I also have other friends too; the Ham-Hams! There's a whole bunch of us; there's Boss, and Oxnard, and Bijou, and a ton more! But you'll learn all their names later! Right now, I have to hurry off to the Clubhouse- oh, that's the place all us Ham-Hams hang out and play and stuff!"

Hamtaro escaped from his cage in the usual manner and ran for the hole in the wall behind Laura's bed. Every day, the little orange and tannish white, fluffy hamster would go on this same route, to visit his hamster friends, the Ham-Hams. Once in the hole, it was a short pitter-patter to the roof of the house, where he would then jump into the rain gutter and slide all the way to the ground. Like always, Brandy (that's Laura's dog, he's big, brown and white, and a real friend to the Ham-Hams) was in his doghouse, minding his own simple, doggy business.

Hamtaro soared through the air and landed on Brandy's head.

"Morning Brandy! Boy it sure is warm out, huh?"

The dog just yawned and returned to the sleeping position he was in before. Hamtaro hopped down and ran towards the Clubhouse. On the way, past wispy bushes and tall, swaying trees, he met up with his best friend, Oxnard. Oxnard was a hamster like Hamtaro, but taller and with circles of grey on parts of his body, the most notable one around his nose.

"Hey Oxnard!" he exclaimed as his friend took a running position beside him.

"Morning Hamtaro- say, do you know what 'goatmeal' is? I was sitting in my cage and Kana came over and started talking about it. She says it's really good."

"Hecke? Never heard of a 'goatmeal' before... maybe it's what goats eat."

"Ya maybe- hey Hamtaro, what's a goat?"

"I don't really know, but Laura says they go 'Baaa!' and eat grass. I guess they're like cows or something."

They continued with their conversation until reaching the Clubhouse at last. Outside, Panda was hammering down a small sign to the right of the entrance. Hamtaro and Oxnard spotted their little friend; he was the same shade of tan as every other male hamster, but he had rings of grey around his eyes, and also had grey ears and arms. He is just a tad shorter than Oxnard, and a bit taller than Hamtaro.

"Panda! Ham-ha!" shouted Hamtaro and Oxnard, rushing towards him with beaming, early morning smiles.

"Ham-ha guys!" replied Panda, who had just finished jamming the sign firmly into the ground. It read 'Welcome to the Ham-Ham Clubhouse! All hamsters welcome!". It was painted with a beautiful blue undercoat and streaks of red, green and yellow adorned it. In the top right corner was a sunflower.

"Awesome sign Panda." said Oxnard.

"Ya, it's really good!" chimed Hamtaro.

"Thanks! But you should also thank Sandy; she's the one who painted it."

Sandy was another one of the Ham-Hams. She has an orange-brown color of fur on the top of her head that extends down to her mid-eye level, and across her back. There are three brown stripes of fur that go from her head to just above her eyes, and also the same stripes on the back of her head. The rest of her body is white, a shade of which is much lighter than the boys. She has a cute little red bow tied to her tail. She has a twin brother named Stan, who, aside from his darker shade of body fur, looks identical to her. Where Sandy is a graceful, athletic hamster, Stan is sort of boastful and very flirtatious, much to his sister's annoyance.

"So why'd you make a sign anyway? Did someone forget where the Clubhouse was?" questioned Oxnard.

"Boss said it would be a good form of advertising. Most hamsters would probably walk right by without knowing this big tree is actually a hamster clubhouse down below."

"That's a really good idea! Maybe we'll meet some new friends now!" said Hamtaro.

Panda placed the hammer into the toolkit at his feet and picked it up.

"Comon guys let's go inside. Everyone's waiting for you two."

As they made their way back, the three hamsters heard a familiar old voice calling them from behind.

"Oi! Ham-hams! Good morning!"

Turning around the three saw Elder Ham, who was carrying a large, purple book under his left paw, and holding out his cane in the right. Elder Ham is a furry, old and dark grey and white hamster who tends to doze off at inopportune moments, but he really is a great source of wisdom.

"How are you three?"

"Good morning Elder Ham! We're fine!" Hamtaro, Oxnard and Panda said in unison. Elder Ham noticed the colourful sign behind Panda and admired it for a few moments.

"My, what a nice sign! Did you make it Panda?"

"Well, it wasn't all me... Sandy helped too!"

Elder Ham nodded.

"I'm sure it will attract lots of hams- oh that's right I almost forgot why I came! Here, come inside with me, ham-hams, I have something to show you all!"

"The Tale of who now?" exclaimed a puzzled Boss. Boss is a tall, strong field hamster who is the owner of the Ham-Ham Clubhouse. He's got a tan fur coat, save for the patch of black around his mouth and nose, on the tops of his ears, and on his bottom. He always wears his yellow hat with the green strip across it and the Red Crescent in the centre.

"The Tale of Ryosuke." Elder Ham held up the book to show all of the hamsters the cover. It was bare, save for the title, embroidered in gold. Every one of the twelve present at the round table leaned in to get a closer look.

"That's, like, so big..." commented Sandy.

"Yes it's certainly not your average picture book is it?" said Dexter. Dexter is an intellectual male hamster with tan fur everywhere but above his eyes, which are circled by light brown rings. These rings connect via a strip of brown going from eye to eye, giving the appearance of glasses. Aside from that, he has a simple red bow tie on his chest.

"It could make for a cool hat though!" cheered Cappy. Cappy is a young hamster with a love for hats. He's shorter than most of the other hams, and his fur is a simple tan with brown ears. Most of the time, he has just his green tuque on, but others he can be seen with a small red pot covering him, which he uses as an oversized hat.

"Oh dear me no! This book is far too rare to be used for such things! You see, this is the only copy of this book ever made! I myself came about it merely by accident; and what a great accident it was! Errr, well, I wont get into details, but it's an amazing find I'll tell you!"

Boss sat with his arms crossed the entire time, finally cutting in before Elder Ham continued.

"Ok so it's a special book- so what? What's it about? Is it magic or something?"

"I agree. I seen lots-a books before and I'll tell you this don't look too much different than most. It looks a lot like one-a Maxwell's books, actually." This interjection came from the brown and tan hamster, Howdy. The red apron wearing, bad joke telling, Southern accent ham pointed to Maxwell as he spoke.

Maxwell, the brainiac, book worm hamster with brown fur just above his eyes covering the top of his head and the ears that stuck up straight, just shook his head with arms crossed.

"That may be true but I've never actually heard of this book before, to be honest. Though I have heard bits and pieces about Ryosuke before."

Everyone around the table began to chitter-chatter away at this point, about the book, Ryosuke and other such interruptions (as far as Elder Ham was concerned). Pashmina; oh, she's a cute white girl hamster with light brown fur above her eyes who loves scarfs; turned to her friend Penelope; again, another little hamster, only Penelope is much shorter than the rest of the hamsters and wears a yellow blanket to cover her white and brown body, on account of being just a baby and all; and began to ask her about the situation, whereas she would and could only reply with "Okyoo!".

Elder Ham was shaking in impatience and mild anger and threw his paws up.

"Quiet!"

Everyone looked over at the old, sniffling ham and straightened themselves out. Elder Ham cleared his throat.

"Now if you're all finished, I'd like to continue my explanation... you see..."

Right before he could begin, however, Hamtaro spoke up, after he had looked around the room many times.

"Hey everyone...where's Bijou?"

A now very frustrated Elder Ham silenced himself as Boss answered Hamtaro's question.

"You know what, you're right! I haven't seen her all day. Any of you guys seen her yet?"

Everyone gave their own variations of "no". Hamtaro got up and started for the door.

"I'm going to go to Bijou's house and see why she's not here!"

"H-hey, wait up!" said Boss, following after.

"Ya, I'm coming too!" called Oxnard.

As the three left, the rest remained to converse once more. Elder Ham shouted desperately, "Doesn't anyone around here want to hear my story!".

_Well it seems someone's a bit flustered, no? Bah, you don't know the half of it, bien sûr! And where is Bijou? Could this be the start of a new adventure for our hamster friends? There's only one way to find out, mon ami. Why, you must read the next chapter, bien sûr!_


	2. Chapter 2

Slow start, now it's time for some action!

Chapter 2: Big Ham is Big Trouble!

"Honestly, the nerve of some hams! And the way they treat an old man! Interrupting me in the middle of my story too!"

Elder Ham was talking to himself, seated at one of the chairs of the Ham-Ham Clubhouse. He crossed his arms. Maxwell, across from the old, grey hamster, was talking to Sandy about the upcoming Ham-Ham Dance.

"And you're saying that it's two days from now?" Maxwell inquired.

"Totally. There's, like, gonna be a thousand hamsters there! It's at this new dance hall built for hamsters. Some hamster named Zardusht built it all by himself! It's gonna be super cool, you gotta come!"

"Well, if it's with you," he grabbed Sandy's paw and they exchanged blushes, "I'd love too!"

"Awesome." Said Sandy.

A few chairs down, Dexter was sneakily eavesdropping on Maxwell and Sandy's conversation. A sly smile appeared on his face.

_A big dance, eh? Perfect chance to get with Pashmina! And Howdy doesn't even know a thi..._

Sure enough, at the other side of the table, was Howdy, also making it perfectly obvious he was following the same aforementioned conversation. The two discovered each other and immediately went into rival mode.

"Don't tell me you're planning on asking Pashmina out to the Ham-Ham Dance too!"

"I don't need ta, why, once she hears about the dance, she'll be coming for me head over heels! The lady knows a great dancer when she sees one."

"Oh yeah, well I've been taking dance lessons for years, I'm practically a professional!"

"Oh please, you probably can't even spell 'professional'!"

"P-R-O-F-E-S-S-H-U-N-A-L-L! Only a complete fool couldn't spell such an easy word!"

"That's not how you spell it, you forgot the 'T'..."

A bewildered Pashmina, who had only stopped speaking to Penelope moments prior, had begun to listen to the two hamsters.

"Hey, what are you guys talking about?"

The two boy hams stopped and turned to the source of the familiar voice.

"P-Pashmina! We...I...HE..."

"What Dexter MEANS to say is, he can't dance ta save his life," interjected Howdy.

"And what Howdy MEANS to say is that he has the spelling ability of a first grader!" argued Dexter.

Pashmina turned to Penelope and flashed a warm smile.

"Silly boys. Always fighting."

"Okyoo okyoo!"

Cappy and Panda were beside each other, talking about the preceding night with their owners.

"It was a lot of fun! Mimi and I had a bath together. Normally I'd be afraid of water, like most hamsters, but I had made myself a nifty raft with an old plastic container top, so I could float on the surface. We played 'Sea Monster' and 'Whirlpool', and a lot of other fun bath games!"

"Uhhh, no fair! All Kip and Sue ever do is give food and tell me how great I am! Sure the attention is nice, but it's not as good as playing with the Ham-Hams- oh, but they did buy me a new hat yesterday! It's really cool, it's like my green cap, but it's black and has little flames all around it!"

"That sounds really great Cappy! Why didn't you wear it today?"

"Oh I ended up forgetting..." replied Cappy, sounding rather disappointed.

"Hey you know what; I can make you a hat rack to keep here in the Clubhouse! That way you can bring all your most favourite hats and have them all right here whenever you want!"

"Really? That'd be awesome! I'm glad we have a handy ham like you around, Panda!"

Panda chuckled a bit and rubbed the back of his head humbly. Stan, who was clowning around nearby on his skateboard, stopped for a moment.

"Hey, wasn't Elder Ham, like, waiting to tell us a story or something?"

Everyone looked over at Elder Ham, who had stereotypically fallen asleep randomly.

"Hey Elder Ham, wake up!" said Maxwell, calmly.

"Huh...wha...who said that- oh, Ham-Hams! I almost, err, forgot! Right, right, the story!"

"H-H-Ham-Ham-Ta-Taro... B-B-o-o-ss... w-wa-wa-it up..." managed an obviously tired Oxnard, trying to keep up with the speedy Hamtaro and Boss, who were already a few inches ahead. The three were well on their way to Bijou's mansion. Boss stopped and called out towards Hamtaro.

"Eh, Hamtaro. Let's rest a moment, let Oxy take a breath."

"Ya, ok. I guess it doesn't really matter, it's not like Bijou's life is in danger or anything, right? She's probably just stuck at home with Maria."

"That's right. Bijou's no dumb ham either, she wouldn't let herself get in harm's way." reassured Boss.

"Oh no...this is my last sunflower seed, and I'm starving... say Boss, do you have a few I can borrow?"

"Jeez Oxnard. I 'borrowed' you five yesterday, and twelve the day before. The idea of borrowing is to give me the stuff back one of these days, y'know."

"I'm sorry Boss; I'm just so hungry..."

"You're always hungry, Oxnard!" chimed Hamtaro.

"Hey, a ham's gotta eat!"

Just then, an ear piercing scream was heard from not too far into the nearby woods. There was no mistake. This was Bijou's voice. Without a word, both Boss and Hamtaro sped off.

"Not again..." complained Oxnard as he got up once again and hurried after his two companions. Coming to a small clearing, Boss and Hamtaro immediately noticed the reason for the cry- Bijou, the pure white, blue ribbon wearing French ham girl, was being manhandled by a frightfully large hamster. And when I say large, I mean fat. He was at least a head or so taller than Boss and more then twice or three times his weight, from the looks of it! Aside from those abnormal physical qualities, he had a standard tan fur coat, with olive green spots around his whiskers, ears and his messy hair. In his left paw was Bijou, slung over his shoulder, and in his right, was an unlit match, which it appeared was some sort of weapon of his.

"Put me down! Please, you are hurting me!"

"Bijou!" the three hamsters called out. Bijou struggled against the glutton's grip, but he was insanely powerful and didn't need to strain himself in the slightest to keep her immobile. Hamtaro stepped forward and confronted the giant hamster.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing to our friend?"

"Ya, didn't your mother teach you any manners, buddy? That's not the way to hold a woman, especially Bijou!" affirmed Boss, who was slightly angrier but no more concerned than Hamtaro.

The hamster's expression did not change in the least as he explained, in short, stout sentences, his situation.

"Big Ham...not bad guy...just doing job...Master said 'Get little girl hamster'...and that what Big Ham doing...I sorry if I make problem..."

"Master?" said Oxnard.

"I don't care who he works for, if he doesn't let Bijou go in 5 seconds I'm gonna let 'em have it!" Boss was far too angry for Hamtaro's tastes.

"Calm down Boss! Nobody has to get hurt here, we just gotta figure out why he needs Bijou. Maybe he's got the wrong ham!"

Big Ham, clearly completely unaware of what the three were discussing, turned around and started to hobble away. Bijou tried to struggle more, but to no avail.

"Hamtaro! Boss! Help me!"

Her cries were filled with genuine fright, and Boss could take it no longer. He rushed forward and upon jumped several inches in the air, just behind the captor.

"Alright, that's it pal! I warned ya!"

Hamtaro and Oxnard had no time to react as a most peculiar scene unfolded in front of them. In a split second, as Boss neared his victim, the previously slow, unassuming Big Ham, whipped around and sent a harsh whack onto the side of Boss' head, sending the poor hamster about a foot backwards and landing just short of a maple tree.

"Boss!"

Hamtaro sprang forward to Boss' side, Oxnard following after. They huddled around him, unbeknownst to the fact that Big Ham was closing in behind them.

"Boss! Speak to me, are you ok? Where does it hurt? Oh please don't tell me you're a veggie-o now!"

Boss twitched a bit, and stood up.

"H-Hamtaro...I'm fine, where's-Watch out guys!"

Boss pushed Hamtaro and Oxnard out of the way, and had just enough time to avoid Big Ham's massive club like match as it came into contact with the ground. The behemoth of a hamster straightened himself out, panting heavily and with great ferocity. He confronted the Ham-Hams.

"BIG HAM DO NOTHING...BAD HAMSTERS BE MEAN...YOU," he pointed his weapon at Boss, "...YOU TRIED HIT ME! NOW I HIT TOO! I GET TO HIT MANY TIMES NOW!"

"Please Mr. Big Ham sir, stop this at once, I'll come with you peacefully, just don't hurt my friends!" Bijou's attempts to compromise with the now enraged beast were moot. He merely squeezed his grip harder, and prepared another whack, this one at Hamtaro. Boss, noticing this, called out to his friend.

"Hamtaro, he's after you! RUN!"

Oxnard ran around in circles aimlessly, crying out all sorts of variations of 'please don't hurt me!', and Hamtaro barely dodged the attack. He made his way over to Boss and the two exchanged bewildered words between pants.

"Boss...we need to...stop him...but he's...so big..."

"Ya...and we...gotta save Bijou...any ideas?"

Hamtaro took a few moments to look over their opponent; very large, slow, but powerful, and with such a long weapon it would be hard to approach him, unless from behind. Big Ham either completely ignored, or forgot about, Oxnard, who was now quivering in fear behind him. Once again, the goliath raised his match and made his way, awkwardly, to his intended victims.

"I think so...stay here and draw his attention!" Hamtaro whizzed to behind a nearby tree to their right, and moved to circle around Big Ham's line of sight to his back. Boss made excellent bait and was quick enough at least to stay millimetres away from a sad end whenever Big Ham struck. Whack after pound after swing the unrelenting creature attacked, Boss slowly getting tired. Finally, Hamtaro was in position behind Big Ham. He jumped onto the hamster's back, and with all the force he could muster, brought his teeth down upon the paw holding Bijou, who had now passed out from the combined stress and pain. Blood was drawn and Big Ham wretched in a fanatical cry of pain. Hamtaro was able to grab Bijou, and ran with all the strength left in him towards the Clubhouse. Boss and Oxnard hurried after. All that Hamtaro could hear through the adrenaline was a feral, pained roar bellowing all throughout the valley.

All was silent in the Clubhouse. All the ham-hams were seated at the table, except Bijou, who was off in a corner resting on a bed of straw that Boss had temporarily made, and Boss, who was at his armchair. For the longest time he and Hamtaro sat watching her, discussing the past event, but eventually they re-joined their friends. Everyone sat thinking about either what they had saw, or heard, or thought, pertaining to the encounter. Elder Ham had, of course, fallen asleep at his stool, still clutching the beat up old book. Stan was the first to speak up, no longer able to keep silent.

"This makes no sense; like, how exactly did you end up letting Bijou get hurt again?"

Everyone tensed as they knew for sure Boss would snap at such a comment and a fight would ensue. He did not, however. He merely sat and rubbed his aching head. Neither Hamtaro nor Oxnard spoke up, either.

"Stan! Honestly bro, you need to learn to watch what you say sometimes!"

"Well excuse me for being concerned about my friends! Isn't that what we're all totally about, sticking up for each other! How can they call themselves ham-hams if they let this happen to her?"

Something in Boss snapped and the field hamster rose up like a torrent, sending a dirty punch at Stan's unsuspecting person. It was the start of a series of events which would forever change the ham-hams forever.

_Oh non, say it is not so! Boss, attacking his own ami! And this Big Ham...who IS his master? Why was his target Bijou, of all people! How does Hamtaro feel about all this, and Oxnard? Are the ham-hams in danger? Formidable, so many questions! And only reading the next chapter will reveal the answers! _

P.S. By the way, Zardusht (pronounced zar - DOOSHT) is a real name. It's Persian. I never use made up names in my stories. It's just stupid and I find it annoying.


	3. Chapter 3

Ooooo...the plot thickens...

Chapter 3: An Uncalled-for Attack, A Surprise Apology.

Boss didn't say anything. He turned around, and went into his room. Truthfully, there was nothing to say. Stan stood there, a little dazed, holding his bleeding nose. Sandy took him with her to the stream, to wash his face. The rest of the hams sighed and remained mostly silent for a long time. Hamtaro, himself, had a lot of things going through his mind. Why was Big Ham trying to take Bijou away? Had she done anything wrong?

_No way,_ thought Hamtaro, _Bijou isn't that kind of hamster. She's very nice to everyone. All the Ham-Hams are._

And then Hamtaro remembered something about a Master. So, was Big Ham not the end of it? Will there be more bad hamsters trying to take Bijou away? Hamtaro didn't want to think anymore about all of this. Besides Bijou's misfortunes, poor Boss also got a nasty blow to the head, and of course, Stan. The other hams, too, even though they knew and understood very little of what was happening and had happened, felt the want to just forget it and go about their playing and happy times.

Elder Ham, however, had a slight notion of what was happening.

"This is not good...no not at all...very bad, indeed..."

Everyone peered over at their guest, who was whispering to himself as he sat huddled up in a ponderous stance. Hamtaro was intrigued.

"What's wrong, Elder Ham? Did you forget to take your pills today?"

"No, no it's not that its...well...its..."

"Hecke?"

"I may know why that Big Ham fellow attacked you, and tried to kidnapp Bijou. It's just an idea, but I have been seeing weird things lately. You see..."

Sandy and Stan re-entered the Clubhouse. The boy ham sat down, a little embarassed and angry. He had taken a punch from Boss, and Sandy had given him a strict lecture already about pushing people's buttons, especially Boss', and especially in a situation like that. After everyone was settled away, Elder Ham continued.

"Well, it all started last week. I was out and about, meeting some old friends and catching up on old times, when I stopped into the home of a most peculiar ham. I meant to leave when I realized it wasn't the one I was looking for, but I heard him talking about some strange things with some hamsters. There was a big hamster there, most likely your Big Ham, and a few others. I was going to listen longer, but I was forced to leave when one of the hamsters started to come near my direction."

"I don't get it, what's yer point?" said Howdy.

"My point is..."

Dexter spoke up. "...You think this mysterious hamster told Big Ham to kidnapp Bijou?". All the Ham-Hams exhanged concerned glances. Elder Ham nodded.

"I don't know Elder Ham, the idea of someone going to such lengths to take Bijou seems quite strange. Did he say what his motive was?" questioned Maxwell.

"I'm afraid I couldn't say. I only heard them talking about what they were going to be paid, and then I left."

Everyone sat thinking for a moment, until Hamtaro broke the silence moments later.

"Right! So we have to protect Bijou, then! We don't know why this hamster wants her so bad, but if he's doing all of this, it's probably not very good! Dont'cha think guys?"

Everyone agreed. Penelope began to jump around the room restlessly. It seemed she wanted to play.

"I agree with Penelope. I think it's time we had a little fun around here, I'm tired of all this fighting and talking." said Pashmina.

"Ya but we can't all go. Someone has to stay here and watch Bijou..." argued Sandy.

"Boss is here" mentioned Oxnard.

"Pssh," hissed Stan, "he's too busy sulking in his room, remember?"

"Well then maybe you should apoligize, Stan!" Sandy was still upset about her brother's harsh words, but the male twin just turned his head and sneered.

"Ya right... like I'm going to apoligize for being punched in the face! Let him stay there for all I care!". As Stan finished what he was saying a faint, unnoticable click was sounding off from the back. It was Boss leaving his room.

"Boss!" cried Hamtaro, as he spotted the field hamster coming towards the table. Stan nearly jumped out of his fur when he turned around and saw the imposing figure of Boss behind him.

"B-B-B-Boss...I-I-I-IIIIII," Stan nervously chucked, "hey man, about before...". Everyone braced for impact.

"...Sorry..." managed Boss.

"Sorry for hitting you... I kinda let my anger get the best of me...". Everyone was stunned. Boss had actually apoligized first. Stan was caught in a fit of stammering gasps.

"Bossman...", Stan held out his paw, and Boss took it. They shook hands. "I'm sorry too...I shouldn't have said those horrible things. I know it wasn't your fault that Bijou got hurt." Boss shook his head and dropped his eyes to the floor.

"No, you were right. It was my fault. I could have stopped it if I wasn't such a hothead. I'll understand if you hate me..." Hamtaro got up and stepped forward, his usually hidden, mature nature coming through.

"You can't be serious Boss! Do you honestly think we could ever hate you? It's because of you that we can even meet like this and have so much fun! Without you, there'd be no Ham-hams!" Everyone agreed and nodded their heads. Boss looked up and smiled, with a small tear in the corner of his eye.

"You guys really think so..."

"Of course we do! Don't beat yourself up Boss, please, we all feel sad when you're sad."

"Thanks guys...I'm sorry, I'll try to feel better..."

Howdy jumped up from his chair. Dexter followed suit.

"Well now that all that stuff's done with I propose we have what the Spanish call 'some fun'!"

"I agree, let's just enjoy the rest of the day and forget the fighting even happened!"

Everyone cheered and procedded to leave, except for Pashmina who decided to stay behind and draw with Penelope and watch over Bijou. For the rest of the day, everything was normal. By the time the sunset came, everyone had forgotten about the incident, and Pashmina had woken the sleeping victim up just before it was time to leave.

"Bijou, it's time to go home" she said in a whisper as she shook her. The always elegant French ham slowly opened her eyes and sat up, the straw bed obviously having messed up her usually very pretty and fine fur. A couple of tuffs stood up on her head, giving her a rather humourous appearance, causing Pashmina to giggle.

"Hmmm...Pashmina, where is everyone?"

"They're all leaving. The sun's setting and it's time for us to go home."

"Oh I'd better go too! Maria would be so worried if she found out I wasn't there!"

Bijou got up very quickly; too quickly, in fact, and fell right back down again. She would have fallen quite hard, indeed, if Boss had not caught her. He had silently moved up behind the two girls moments before, not intentionally of course. She looked up at him, and he went a little red. But this time ol' Boss was ready. He was finally going to get his chance with Bijou. He had it all planned out. He would ask her if he could carry her home. She would obviously, being the kind person Bijou is, accept and he would have all the time to tell her how she felt. There was no doubt, after performing such a valiant, heroic and manly deed, that she would fall in love with him too. He helped her to her feet.

"Boss! _Merci beaucoup_! That would have hurt..."

"Errr...no...problem Bijou...say, listen...I...well..." She cocked her head to one side quizzically.

"_Oui_?"

"I was wondering...since your so...you know...hurt and stuff...well...WELL...B-B-B-B-BIJOU...I...I...I...I..."

Somewhere in between Boss' stammering the Clubhouse door violently swung open and a panting, biwildered Panda entered. Upon catching his breath, he began to speak.

"It's...Hamtaro...he...collapsed...we can't...wake him up..." Bijou, with her heart in her stomach, brushed past Boss and ran as fast as she could outside. Pashmina and Penelope followed suit, and Boss just sighed.

"Cats..." he exhaled. Finally, he picked himself up and left the Clubhouse. Not too far from the entrance, surronded by all of the Ham-Hams, was poor little Hamtaro, laying on the grass on his stomach, making not a sound nor twitch. Little did any of them know, however, that at that moment they were being watched from afar. On a tree branch hidden by leaves, high above the ground, a small hamster sat, observing his soon to be victims.

_C'est très bien!_ _At least Boss and Stan made up, and petit Bijou was alright in the end, but oh non!, Hamtaro is in trouble, perhaps? Or maybe not? And this new figure, this étranger, what is his mission? Oolala, even I do not know!_


	4. Chapter 4

Just some story development... quite a bit of story development...

Chapter 4: The Cherry Blossom, and the Moon

All was quiet. Very quiet, in fact, considering that just moments before he was surrounded by his smiling friends, saying their goodbyes. Now, Hamtaro was alone, and it was quiet. He lifted his head slightly to see where he was. At first, there was nothing but pitch, impenetrable black. Hamtaro thought, perhaps, that he had died. But once he had blinked a few more times, the clear image of green came into his head.

On closer inspection, this green turned out to be thin, fine blades of grass. He lifted himself up and sat for a moment. Looking beyond the tall grass, about three or four feet (remember this is from a hamster's perspective; think 3-4 yards) away from him, was a great big cherry blossom. It was situated on a slope that ran from far below where Hamtaro was to the edge of the cliff which the tree sat upon.

He finally got onto his feet. He shook himself a bit, 'kush kush'ed (lol), and then said aloud, "Where am I...?". As if in response, his mind wandered towards the cherry blossom. Wherever he was, it was apparently summer since the tree was in full bloom; here and there multiple flowers would come off and float away, or fall directly down. They all had a rich, reddish-pink colour to them. Decidedly, he started to walk towards it. The grass went up to just below his neck area, and it felt very smooth and refreshing as opposed to regular grass which was coarse and rough.

It was at this moment that Hamtaro noticed everything was blurry. At first he thought he was just tired or dizzy, but after seeing that his own body was not blurry, it dawned on him that it was only everything else that carried this trait.

_"Am I dreaming?" _thought Hamtaro, still walking towards the tree. He was now under its branches. The blossoms fell and hit him or brushed across his body. He laughed from time to time as they bounced off, and soon enough he was rolling around and playing in the small, scented pedels. For a minute or so time stood still for Hamtaro, caught in the moment. So caught up that he did not notice the figures come up to him...

"So I've found you at last, Hamtaro."

The orange and tan hamster nearly jumped out of his fur when he heard the clear, commanding voice ring through his ears. He turned around to behold the source of the voice, and was greeted by not one, but two figures. Unfortunately, the cherry blossom cast a rather dark shadow on their faces, and he could not make out any distinctive features besides the hamster on the left being a taller male, and the one on the right a shorter female. Most importantly, they were holding paws, signifying to Hamtaro that they were a couple of some sort. The male continued.

"I've been searching my mind for so long, attempting to reach out to you, but it's been awefully difficult."

"W-Who are you two?"

"That...that is not important as of yet. For now, all you must know is that your notions about your friend's attempted kidnapper are correct, and that sinister deeds await still."

"So Bijou is in danger! I knew it!"

"I'm afraid so. But I can't keep you long. My present...location does not allow me to speak with you...long...it was good...at least...to see you..."

Suddenly, everything around Hamtaro seemed to be fading to white.

"Wait, what should I do! Who's after Bijou?"

He could only catch a glimpse of the figures as the final words were uttered: _"...Good...bye...Ham...taro..."_

The Ham-hams were slightly past frantic at this point. Their friend Hamtaro, after several minutes of shaking him, calling his name, pouring water on him, tempting him with sunflower seeds, telling him bad jokes, performing elaborate dance routines and awesome skateboard techniques, had yet to even stir from his apparent slumber.

"Hamtaro! Wake up! Can you hear me? Hamtaro!" Boss picked up the unconscious ham and shook him violently once more, but it seemed now that they had lost him forever. As the sun's final rays left the horizon, and sank below the Earth, so did the Ham-hams' spirits. Boss finally stopped and fell down on his behind, at a loss for words. He just stared at the once jubilant, lively Hamtaro; a true friend, worthy of everything that he had, even Bijou's admiration, which the field hamster himself wanted so much. He understood now, at this critical moment, why they were such good friends: Boss always thought of himself as the mature, adult ham of the group, and Hamtaro as his underling. But now he could see, that he was the student, and Hamtaro was the teacher. He taught him to open up to people, to be gentler, to control his anger, and most importantly he helped start the Ham-hams, nay, he WAS the Ham-hams. Without him, as well as without Boss, there was nothing.

Such feelings were almost mutual inside Bijou's heart, though a little detorted. Indeed, all the hams began to think of what Hamtaro really meant to them, had this really been the end of him. But, as you already know, it was not to be. And whilst the poor Ham-hams sat weeping silently to themselves, Hamtaro twitched and turned a bit, unnoticably at first, but steadily it grew into a great motion of the arms and finally a sitting position. Hamtaro blinked a few times, shook his head a bit and yawned.

"Hey...guys...what happened? Boy do I feel tired..."

Everyone rapidly blinked in disbelief, and surprise happiness, and then descended upon Hamtaro one by one, embracing their almost lost comrade. Hamtaro was knocked off his feet, under the weight of his twelve friends.

"Hamtaro! You're alive!" they shouted.

"...I...won't... be... for much... longer... if you don't stop... crushing me..." They hopped off and beamed once more, as the moon's first light began to creep through the tree branches. Hamtaro struggled at first to get up, and was assisted by Dexter and Oxnard. He breathed a sigh of relief, and Boss stepped forward, determined to find out what happened.

"Hamtaro! What happened to you buddy! One moment I'm in the Clubhouse with Bijou and the next thing I know everyone's jumping around in a panic!"

"_Oui, _Hamtaro_!_ Are you alright? Does anywhere hurt?" Bijou ran forward and began to stroke up and down his paws, searching for mark, scratch or bruise.

"I'm fine guys, I'm just really tired. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow, but right now I need to get back before Laura finishes dinner!"

"As we all must be after such a long day. Look at that; the moon's already out." added Maxwell, pointing upwards at the celestial body in question. For a moment, they all stood entranced by the beauty of the full moon; on such a clear and peaceful night one could hear the whisper of the midsummer's air, and feel the crispness of a warm Japanese night. But such magic lasted not, and Hamtaro finally was off towards home, with a final wave and goodbye to his friends, who returned the gesture. They, too, parted ways after awhile (Pashmina offered herself again to be Bijou's escort / guardian), leaving a sore Boss and hungry Oxnard behind. The white-grey hamster turned to his slightly taller companion.

"Hey Boss do ya think maybe Hamtaro had a dream about today, like a nightmare or something?"

"I don't know Oxy, but it couldn'ta been that bad. He looked fine to me when he woke up. Guess we'll have to wait until tomorrow."

"I guess you're right...makes ya think though, eh Boss?"

"Yep, it sure does- hey, you should get back before Kanna finds out you're not there!"

"Oh jeez, you're right! See-see'ya tomorrow Boss!" said Oxnard, running for home. Boss turned around to head inside, though found himself impelled to look at the moon one last time.

_"Still...Hamtaro...what DID happen...?"_

After long, everyone was home, with their owners none the wiser. Oxnard finally filled his empty stomach, Boss caught some Z's, and Hamtaro had just finished hearing about Laura's day. He was, of course, not paying much attention to what she was saying. He couldn't stop thinking about his dream- or was it even a dream? Hamtaro didn't understand any of this. It was too much to absorb in one day. He laid down to go to sleep, and when Laura turned off the bedroom lights, the light from the moon crept ever so slyly past the closed curtains and into his cage. It bounced off his little home and bathed a small patch in front of it. Hamtaro crept out and peered up into the night sky.

For some reason, he couldn't stop thinking about those two hamsters. Who were they? Did he know them? What did they know about him? Where did they come from? Hamtaro grasped his throbbing head.

_"Too much thinking! I guess I should just go to sleep, I can talk to the Ham-hams about it in the morning!"_

But still, what was the meaning of all this? First, Big Ham...then, mysteriously, a "message" from some strange hamsters. Was there a connection? As he tossed the idea around in his brain, little Hamtaro finally dozed off, having simple dreams about sunflower seeds. His friends, too, were all slowly embracing sleep. But not all of the city is so at night, and somewhere underground, in a dimly lit room, were two such nocturnal hamsters...

The first hamster, standing motionlessly in front of the second's desk, was a short, young creature; probably around Cappy's age, dressed in the traditional _shinobi sh__ōzoku_ of his ninja comrades. All manner of such materials and weapons as are prevalent for ninjas were held together in a sack on his back, most importantly his favoured shuriken. Besides his outer apparel, and the purple fur of his ears, nothing else could be gotten from this hamster by the eyes alone. To the standard ham, he was but a living weapon; used only when needed and without any sort of personable qualities.

Seated behind his desk, (which held a few old books, an hourglass, a quill in a small jar of ink, a small, overflowing bag of sunflower seeds, and a stack of blank, yellowing paper in the far right corner), the stocky, dark brown furred hamster was going over a few papers in his hands, studying them with every bit of focus that could be mustered. He was, unlike the first, completely naked, and all of his many scars could be beheld even in a room with such a lack of light as this (the only source of which was a lanturn hung above the desk). His fur, scruffy and uneven. After a while, he looked up from the papers and squinted at the ninja ham. He began in a very hoarse, Irish accent:

"So you've found the target, and yet, you refused the attempt at capture. Care to explain?"

The young hamster tensed up, and responded quietly.

"Well sir, I...I had no choice but to refrain...there were many others with her; to strike then would be stupid..."

"Nonsense, lad. You're a ninja, am I right? That's what ye be trained to do, after all, lest my definition of ninja be different from yer's."

"I know sir...but...I..."

"Ah- but nevermind it anyways. Tell me sonny, where d'ya live? You must live with yer parents, no doubt?"

"My mother...I never met my father, he died shortly after I was born, or so I've been told. That's why I'm doing this...this ninja stuff...I need to support my mom..."

"Mmm...a sad tale, but nevertheless, my job is to pick the right hamsters for the job. The Master has his desires, and it's up to me to fulfill them, through you, or I don't get paid. Therefore, I hope you'll understand when I..."

"NO! Please, Mister Scratch, sir, I...I really need this...please, give me one more day, just one more, I can...I can do it."

With this last, defiant plea, Scratch placed the papers on his desk and exhaled reluctantly. With a motion of his hand, he dismissed the ninja, though with forboding last words: "Yuzuru, make a mistake like this again, and take my kindness for granted, and the punishment will be much more severe...". Before leaving, Yuzuru showered his elder in many thank-yous, and then took off, leaving old Scratch with another few papers to look over...

_That was, how you say, a lot to absorb, no? Hamtaro's dream... what could it mean, bien sûr? What do you think; an otherworldly message from an admirer, perhaps something sinister, or... bah, I do not know in the least! Bénédiction! I am just a simple author, bien sûr- oh, but at least Bijou got home all right! I would not know what to do had mon fille favorisée been hurt! _


	5. Chapter 5

Not much to this one, just a little fun, trying to get something out before people think that this story will die. It won't. I WILL finish it. Though I ask that people please favourite and and subscribe to it, so I know that people are actually reading and that I'm not wasting my time. A few readers is fine; as long as somebody likes it :)

**Chapter 5: Bijou is Kidnapped**

When he had finally awoke, Hamtaro realized he had slept longer than usual, and that Laura was already at school. Also, he had forgotten all about yesterday. Not intentionally, but such a peaceful, refreshing sleep tends to do such things to people. After a few stretches and yawns, Hamtaro was ready for a little breakfest. He looked around his cage until he found the small piles of seeds Laura leaves there every morning, and started to feast.

"I should eat quickly and get to the Clubhouse! I'm already late..."

He finished off his sixth seed and proceeded to leave the cage. Outside, the morning was warm and fair, but the clouds were out and only the illusion of sunlight was seen through the clouds. Hamtaro pattered a little faster than usual today, and in a few moments was in sight of the Ham-Hams, out in the field. Everyone except the Girls were playing Acorn Soccer. Dexter was referee, and the teams were Boss, Howdy, Cappy, Stan on one side, and Oxnard, Maxwell, and Panda on the other. The undermanned team was losing by five goals, so when Hamtaro arrived they embraced him with open arms.

"Hamtaro! Good thing you're here, maybe now we can actually score a goal, or even get the ball..." Panda was staring at Oxnard and Maxwell, who were barely even trying.

"Well I'm sorry if I'd rather not have a big hard nut kicked in my direction every few seconds!" complained Maxwell.

"Yeah, and it's not like we can beat them...they have Boss. Have you seen his kick?" Oxnard seemed concerned, but Hamtaro reassured them.

"That's fine if he has a strong kick! We have speed! And as long as we keep the ball passing between us they won't be able to get it!"

Hamtaro gave each of them their orders and the team got into position. Off to the side, the Girls were happily talking amongst themselves. Penelope was cheering on the teams as Cappy tried to run for the goal once more. This time, Hamtaro and Oxnard intercepted him and stole the acorn, now passing it between themselves as they ran. Boss and Stan thought they had won when they both went for one of the duo, but Oxnard passed it to Panda, who was slightly behind him. He stumbled a bit, but ultimately got past Stan and continued on, now halfway down Boss' teams side. With all three of the hamsters on his tail, Panda had no choice but to launch a kick for the goal, with Howdy in net.

"Here goes...nothing!" Shouted Panda. As the ball flew through the air, it appeared to be heading straight for the net. However, it veered ever so slightly, hitting one of the goalposts, bouncing off, and smacking Dexter, who was just short of the net, dead centre in the face. The grey hamster wretched and winced, and fell over.

"Jeez Dexter, the point of the game is to get the ball in the net, not'chur face!" said Howdy with a laugh.

Dexter's face turned a bright red and the acorn rolled off, leaving it defenseless to another kick from Panda. This time, Howdy ran to catch it, but it was too fast.

"GOAL!" shouted Maxwell, cheering in front of his team's net. Hamtaro and Oxnard locked elbows and danced, and Panda ran back to high five Maxwell. Boss and Stan just sneered.

"Psh, it's one goal. We're still winning..."

"Ya, like, watch this skill!" Stan ran forward and took the ball. He ran quite fast, in fact, right past Hamtaro, Oxnard and Panda, one after the other with relative ease.

"Haha, they don't call me Stan the Ace for nothing!" He was nearing the net, when he turned around to look at the girls.

"Watch this shot ladies. I call it The 'Tiger Strike'!" He kicked the ball into the air with his left paw, spun around, and then attempted to hit it with his right, but missed and fell over. Everyone chuckled, and Boss honed in for a kick in spite of his teammate.

"_Heh, that's right Stan, keep their attention...Shoot!"_

As Boss brought his foot back for a shot, Hamtaro honed in and took the ball, leaving Boss to kick at nothing, and fall over backwards. Now with two defense incapacitated, Hamtaro had only to conquer Cappy. As the smaller, capped hamster came up to take the ball, it was passed to Panda, who took the shot. Howdy ran forward and deflected it with his shoulder, but then Oxnard caught the rebound and had merely to tap it into the exposed right side of the net.

Ten minutes passed, and the score was now 7-7. Dexter, with his still red and sore face, prepared to drop the acorn for the final goal. Hamtaro and Boss stood on their respective sides, eying the other, in complete focus, and then the ball. No sound was heard for a few moments, as everyone waited to see who would get the goal.

"Umm...you guys ready?" questioned Dexter.

"Ready." said Boss and Hamtaro at the same time.

Dexter waited a few seconds, and finally dropped the acorn a few centimetres in front of him. Boss and Hamtaro shot forward so fast nobody could even see them, and collided in front of the ball. Boss overpowered Hamtaro and sped past him, and picking up something from the other team, passed the ball to Stan, who barely got it past Panda, and then went for a shot himself.

"No Stan, pass the ball! Stop tryin' ta be a hot shot!' screamed Boss from far behind.

"It's OK Boss-man, I got this! This time the "Tiger Strike" can't fail!" Once again Stan attempted his shot-and it worked! The ball was launched at rocket speeds towards the net, and Maxwell, fearing more for his life than the game, jumped out of the way with a yelp. Boss' team readied a cheer as the ball headed ever faster to the net. However, Lady Luck was on the other team's side today, and the acorn ricocheted off the crossbar, into Dexter's face, (which is weird, considering he was on the other side of the field) knocking him a few metres back with a bound. This time only Howdy was caught in a fit of laughs, which led him to forget the game for a moment as Hamtaro raced for the unprotected ball.

"HOWDY! THE BALL!" Boss was furious, and he sped up to a speed no hamster has ever seen before, trying without success to stop Hamtaro. But the orange and white hamster would not be beat today, and with a swift, exact kick, he put the ball into the net. Boss fell flat on his face with a grunt as the winning team, and the girls, cheered. Stan was ecstatic that his shot worked, even though it lost them the game. Howdy, finally snapping out of it, questioned Cappy.

"What happened? Did we win?"

"No Howdy, you were laughing at Dexter and Hamtaro scored a goal."

"Hahahahaha, well, it WAS pretty funny, if I do say so m'self."

Dexter got up and confronted Howdy, with a big red patch covering most of his face.

"You fool! You let your team lose because you couldn't control your stupid laughter!"

"Well maybe if you didn't get the ball in your face so much Dex I'd have nuttin to laugh about."

"So it's my fault?"

"Yessir."

"Bah! Please! That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard! Your team lost because you're a terrible goalie!"

"What was that? I didn't see you do anything!"...

The bickering continued for quite some while, but was overshadowed by the cheers of Hamtaro and his team. Cappy and Panda shook hands, and the smallest hamster congratulated the victor.

"Ham-Ham Hurray!" cheered Hamtaro, Oxnard and Maxwell. Boss, recovering from the embarrassing loss, went up and shook Hamtaro's paw.

"Good game Hamtaro. You guys beat us, fair and square."

"Naw, we would've lost if it wasn't for Stan. It was just luck."

"Nonsense, it was your speed that led your team to victory." Everyone continued to congratulate each other, or chat. Pashmina looked around, realizing someone was missing. Suddenly, it hit her that Bijou wasn't there. She was sure that the white hamster was beside her only moments ago, but she was now nowhere to be seen. Frantically, she jumped up and waved her arms, calling to the others.

"Guys! Bijou's gone!"

"Wha...! Bijou! How?" called Boss, running to Pashmina, alongside a few other hams.

"I'm not sure! She was just here, but now I can't see her! I'm sorry, I should have been paying attention..."

"It's not your fault Pashmina! We all missed her. What's important now is that we find her." said Hamtaro, reassuring Pashmina. Penelope was wandering around a little ways away, when she spotted a figure moving swiftly through the trees only a few feet away. It had a squirming, struggling creature in the sack on its back. Penelope cried her 'Okyoos', the only one hearing being Cappy.

"What's wrong Penelope?"

"Okyoo! Okokyoo! Okyoo!"

"Hmm..."

She pointed at the trees, jumping. Cappy spotted the figure now as well.

"That hamster has Bijou, and he's going really fast too! Come on Penelope, we can't wait for the others!"

Penelope agreed and the two ran off for the assailant while the others tried to look around the other direction. Though they themselves wouldn't be without problems...for another ham was readying her plan to assault the Ham-Hams...

_Désolé, mon amis! I need to cut the story off here for now, or it would be terribly longtrement! But rest assured, next chapter, the villain will get his comeuppance- I hope! Will Cappy and Penelope, so young and inexperienced, be able to save Bijou from the ninja Yuzuru? Ohohoho, me and my obvious questions- what? What about this "other ham"? Read the next chapter, bien sûr!_


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